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Variations in Forms of Sexual Violence variations in forms of sexual violence a comparative analysis of bosnia and rwanda my rafstedt, university of york (2014) ABSTRACT Sexual violence during the Bosnian War (1992-1995) and the Rwandan genocide (1994) has been analyzed thoroughly, but limited attention has been paid to how sexual violence difered in these two conficts and why. Tis will be investigated by doing a comparative analysis. Kirby’s modes of feminist analysis will be used as framework, and attention will be paid to the relationship between the construction of ethnic and gender identities and particular forms of sexual violence. It will be demonstrated that forced impregnation characterized Bosnian sexual violence, whilst mutilation of female body parts and mur- der afer rape were prominent in Rwanda. I argue that this can be explained by looking at how these forms of sexual violence were the result of mythology and shared beliefs and were being used by ethnic leaders to re-construct ethnic and gender identities to serve their own political objectives. Because these myths, identity constructions and leader ob- jectives were diferent in Bosnia and Rwanda, the forms of sexual violence were as well. INTRODUCTION 1995) and the Rwandan genocide (1994). Tese two exual violence in conficts has gone from being cases followed a similar pattern of leaders of ethnic considered an unchallenged by-product of war groups targeting women’s bodies, and as a result, the to being thoroughly scrutinized from a range of women experienced very high rates of sexual vio- Sperspectives. Te war in Bosnia-Herzegovina (hence- lence.4 Tey were both ethnic conficts in which sexu- forth referred to as Bosnia) from 1992 to 1995 was al violence was deployed as a strategy of war. However, the frst confict in which sexual violence was given the types of sexual violence that was reported from the massive attention at the time it was happening. Afer two conficts difered substantially, and explaining this Bosnia, sexual violence in conficts has been studied will be the aim of my thesis. in Rwanda, Kosovo, the Democratic Republic of the Tese diferences will be studied from a feminist Congo, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Uganda, and perspective, incorporating research on the construc- Indonesia.1 Signifcant progress has been made the tion of ethnic identities. Based on a review of the cur- past twenty years in understanding the motivations rent state of the literature, two approaches to sexual for sexual violence. However, it is only quite recently violence in Rwanda and Bosnia are identifed as par- that the considerable diferences in what sexual vio- ticularly pertinent: frst, mythology and cosmology lence looks like in various conficts have been high- and second, the motives of leaders. In his classifcation lighted. 2 Important variations in frequency, form, and of the feminist literature on sexual violence in confict, motivation have been overlooked, and sexual violence Kirby calls these two approaches mythology and in- has been analyzed as one phenomenon at the expense strumentality. 5 Te perspective of the construction of a more detailed understanding of the varieties it of ethnic identities is included to complement his consists of. Te confict-specifc processes of sexual feminist framework. Tis aims to enhance the under- violence, and its variation in aims and methods, must standing of how the interaction of ethnic and gender be examined to refne our knowledge of this phenom- identities shaped the sexual violence, and how ethnic enon. 3 leaders used mythology to legitimize it. Tis dissertation is a comparative study of two Te following research questions will guide this of the most important case studies in the research on investigation: sexual violence in confict: the war in Bosnia (1992- 1. How did sexual violence during the Bosnian variations in forms of sexual violence: a comparative analysis of bosnia and rwanda confict difer from that during the Rwandan confict? 8 Tis is particularly true for sexual violence, which 2. What role did myths and shared beliefs within is ofen laden with meaning. For example, communi- each society play in shaping sexual violence? ties having experienced forced impregnation would be 3. How did the construction of ethnic and gen- likely to face other challenges than people who have der identities infuence the types of sexual violence? been subject to mutilation and killing. By demonstrat- 4. How did ethnic leaders afect the forms of sex- ing and explaining the diferences between Rwanda ual violence? and Bosnia, the aim is to create an awareness of the I believe this dissertation will address a gap in situation specifc characteristics of sexual violence and the feminist literature on sexual violence in confict. to promote a less generalized approach to the study of In past years, scholars have theorized on the varying this issue. prevalence rates of warfare rape, but the research on Te dissertation is divided into fve chapters. Te why sexual violence takes on particular forms in giv- subsequent section is the literary review, in which I en conficts is limited. Studies on this topic are ofen will look at feminist approaches to the study of sexual based on one case study only, but by doing a compara- violence and explain my choice of framework. Afer tive study, it is easier to identify contrasts. Tis dis- that is a brief section reviewing the available data on sertation will create a juncture between the research sexual violence from the Bosnian war and the Rwan- on sexual violence, the construction of ethnic identi- dan genocide. Te three consecutive chapters make up ties, and the ethnographic study of violence. Te lat- my analysis. I frst look at how myths and cultural be- ter concept is here defned as “how cultural forms and liefs created a guiding framework for sexual violence. cosmologies shape and inform violence.”6 Ten, I address how the construction by political lead- I will argue that a key diference between the sex- ers of ethnic and gender identities was used to justify ual violence in Bosnia and Rwanda was the presence and contextualize certain kinds of sexual violence. of forced impregnation in Bosnia, and of sexual muti- Lastly, I look at the role of leadership motives. lation and the intent to kill by, or directly afer, rape in Rwanda. Te explanation for this is three-fold. First, SEXUALVIOLENCE IN FEMINIST INTERNATIONAL beliefs shared within a common culture, such as my- RELATIONS LITERATURE thology and cosmology, created frameworks for the Tis section will establish the state of the liter- perpetration of a particular form of violence within ature on the topic of sexual violence and defne the the country. Second, mythology was manipulated to scope of my research. I have chosen to approach sexual help construct gender and ethnic identities that suit- violence in Bosnia and Rwanda through the feminist ed the purposes of the ethnic leaders. Lastly, because international relations perspective, frst and foremost leadership motives were somewhat diferent between because this has been dominant in shaping the inter- Bosnia and Rwanda, these identities were construct- national community’s view on rape. Feminist scholars ed in diferent ways to legitimize particular forms of have also written extensively on Bosnia, albeit less on sexual violence that suited the leadership’s objectives. Rwanda. Tere is not only one feminist approach to Te main contribution of this investigation will sexual violence. Rather, there are plenty of approaches be to expand the feminist understanding of sexual vi- and while some are coherent with one another, oth- olence, and highlight how it consists of a variety of vi- ers are less so.9 Te fundamental element that unites olent practices that are dependent on context-specifc them is that sexual violence is an expression of male circumstances. Te processes behind forced impreg- domination over women. By combining this frame- nation are, for example, not the same as those behind work with theory on ethnic identity construction and sexual mutilation. Tere are several reasons for why a close comparison of Rwanda and Bosnia, I aim to it is important to study the meaning of violence. For expand on the feminist understanding of sexual vio- example, it can assist the identifcation of perpetrators lence in conficts. to ensure that they are prosecuted, as types of violence Te feminist literature on sexual violence is situ- may say something about who performed it.7 Further- ated within the feminist international relations theo- more, Fujii argues that not studying the dynamics of a ry. Tis theory emphasizes the impact of gender on given form of violence could cloud our understanding decision-making processes, power distribution, and of the atrocity and hamper the rebuilding of societies. conficts and everyday life. It argues that women and 61 columbia university journal of politics & society men face challenges in politics, war, and quotidian life conficts, along with its promotion by political lead- that are contingent on their gender, and that women ers. Tis will be further illustrated later on. are ofen disadvantaged in these situations.10 Te frst Te diferences within the feminist literature can major feminist work on rape is that of Susan Brown- be organized in a number of ways. Henry, Ward, and miller.11 She argued that rape was an expression of Hirshberg divide motivations for rape into three main the patriarchal power structures in the society, a way sections: individual, sociocultural and situational fac- for men to dominate women, and that rape had been tors.19 Skjeldsbæk arranges it according to who can be used throughout history to ensure this domination. considered a victim of sexual violence: all women, a Tis was a crucial contribution to the development of targeted group of women, or a targeted group includ- a feminist approach to wartime rape, written in a time ing both women and men.20 However, these frame- when it had not yet been acknowledged as anything works are better suited to explain why rape happens, more than an unpleasant by-product of war.
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